More quirky things spotted on my long Labor Day walk...

There are still more quirky things spotted from my walk through the city in September. These must be a custom paint job. Perhaps the company has some connection with Yayoi Kusama. I can't believe that a Komatsu, Kubota or Caterpillar dealership would have a purple track hoe with white polka dots on the lot or have this option available for order.

BTW - This is the second quirky thing thing spotted on this day. The first has to be the salary man riding the monkey bike. These large track hoes have an usual color scheme and there are two of them!

Nikon D600 with Nikon 85mm f/1.4 AI-S @ f5.6, ISO 100, 1/320 sec.

Hie Shrine

Hie Shrine is located on a hill that abuts the eastern perimeter of Akasaka. Although I've associated it with Minato-ku and nearby Akasaka, it's part of Chiyoda-ku. This shrine is the host of the June 15 Sannō Matsuri, which one of the three great Japanese festivals of Edo; however, the shrine itself is rather understated when compared to the frenetic atmosphere Sensō-ji in Asakusa or the serene Meiji Shrine in Harajuku.

It's not on my must do list but if you are in the Chiyoda-ku or Akasaka, have time and need spiritual refreshment, it worth a visit. I've made several visits myself when I lived in Akasaka and even posted about the Torii gate path in June 2012.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 85mm f/1.4 AI-S @ f8, ISO 100, 1/160 sec.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 85mm f/1.4 AI-S @ f8, ISO 100, 1/100 sec.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 85mm f/1.4 AI-S @ f5.6, ISO 100, 1/60 sec.

Post Production (or a little Nikon Capture NX2)

I took a several photos of a weeping cherry tree blossom near our apartment several weeks ago. When this raw file was downloaded and batch processed in Nikon Capture NX 2 with my usual tweaks, the exposure, colors and contrast were a little disappointing. It wasn't exactly how I envisioned it in the viewfinder. It lacked snap, contrast and drama. It was a little flat (aren't all photographs flat? :-P ).

Nikon D600 with Nikon 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor Lens f5.6, ISO 200, 1/320 sec.

Anyway, I went back to Capute NX 2 and did some additional tweaks to fix the back-lighting which washed out the flower's colors. Perhaps these tweaks are too heavy handed and unnatural. There are unfortunate edges creating a halo, that need to be feathered and smoothed and the blurred stem has a tinge of unnatural violet. I need probably return to work on this a little more.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor Lens f5.6, ISO 200, 1/320 sec.

A Little Yellow ...

I was thinking about yellow today and found these recent photos.　The first is a Ginza Line subway train car in Aoyama Itchome Station. I shot with a relatively slow exposure to blur the subway car as it slowed coming into the station.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 50mm f/1.4G AF-Sf2.8, ISO 100, 1/25 sec.

The next are these yellow flowers located near our apartment in Akasaka. A quick search on Google didn't help me find their name. If I do find out, I will update this page.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 50mm f/1.4G AF-Sf4.0, ISO 100, 1/160 sec.

The last in this set of yellow are flowering rapeseed‎. This particular patch was located in Heiwa no Mori Koen.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8D ED AF @ 200 mm, f5.0, ISO 100, 1/800 sec.

Period of Increased Security

Obama was in Tokyo last week for an official state visit. There was massive additional security and in some places it seemed that you couldn't walk a hundred meters without seeing a policeman. Various news agencies including Yomiuri Shimbun and USA Today, were reported that an additional 16,000 police were on patrol the city for Obama's 36-hour visit.

These signs were posted in the subways and train stations all over the city. This one was spotted in Nogizaka last week.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 85mm f/1.4 AI-S @ f2.8, ISO 100, 1/50 sec.

Blooming flowers

There are other things in bloom (Iris Japonica) besides the sakura (cherry blossoms). These Iris Japonica were blooming in a lovely public garden front of the Akasaka Elementary School (赤坂小学校) just down the street from our apartment.

These photos are much better than my previous posts of irises in 2011 and 2012. Perhaps it was the morning light?

Nikon D600 with Nikon 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor Lens f8.0, ISO 100, 1/320 sec.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor Lens f5.6, ISO 100, 1/250 sec.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor Lens f8.0, ISO 100, 1/200 sec.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor Lens f8.0, ISO 100, 1/250 sec.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 105mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor Lens f5.6, ISO 100, 1/500 sec.

Nogi Shrine Sakura at Night

I braved the evening spring showers and walked to Nogi Shrine located just a short distance from Nogizaka station. The cherry tree is in full bloom and is beautifully lit at night. The dramatic lighting resulted in an attempt (hopefully you may think it is successful) to use HDR. High Dynamic Range or HDR is used to capture a greater dynamic range between the lightest and darkest areas of an image than can usually be taken with one exposure. For my attempt, I bracketed from 7-exposures in 1/3 stop increments. Photoshop CS5 was used to assemble the HDR final HDR image. Be sure to click on the individual photos because the Blogger reduced images don't look half as good without the extra pixels.

Nikon D700 with Nikon 16-35mm f/4G ED VR II AF-S IF SWM @ 16 mm, f5.6, ISO 200

Nikon D700 with Nikon 16-35mm f/4G ED VR II AF-S IF SWM @ 16 mm, f5.6, ISO 200

Nikon D700 with Nikon 16-35mm f/4G ED VR II AF-S IF SWM @ 16 mm, f8.0, ISO 200

Dessert at Ninja Akasaka

In June the family celebrated my son's birthday and Father's Day by having dinner at the Akasaka Ninja restaurant.　　We ordered off the course menu thinking that it would make for a speedy dining experience. Time is always of the essence when dining with children, but it seemed that we were foiled. I'm not sure if I can really pan the experience. The atmosphere was very good but not as over the top as I expected. The place is themed as a ninja village and diners have their own ninja hut. The dishes for the adults were interesting and creatively presented. The table magic was a hit with the kids... but the place was pricey and the whole experience took too long....

Nikon 16-35mm f/4G ED VR II AF-S IF SWM @ 35 mm, f4, ISO 200, 1/5 sec.

Nikon 16-35mm f/4G ED VR II AF-S IF SWM @ 35 mm, f4, ISO 200, 1/5 sec.

Torii Gate Tunnel

It's been a while since my last post.  I've been very busy at work, moving apartments, catching a cold and keeping up with the end of school year activities with the children.  It's not like I haven't been taking pictures.  It's just that I haven't had the time to write or post.

Anyway, here's something to keep those who do follow this website from losing all interest.  I did explore the Akasaka neighborhood with a co-worker and visited Hie-jinga Shrine. The photos I took of the shire were very average, so I am posting my slightly more interesting photos of the torii gate tunnel and steps that leads to the shrine. 

It looks abandoned, but someone lives here

Along Akasaka Dori, just steps outside a busy subway entrance and a short distance away from the Akasaka Sacas is this old wooden house.  Due to the central location and high cost in Tokyo, I can only imagine that the property itself must be worth the building's weight in silver (or perhaps gold).